After closing in Lawrence, Penny Annie’s to open in downtown Eudora

Penny Annie’s, which closed its location at 845 Mass. in Lawrence, is heading to downtown Eudora.

Monica Bowers-Istas, an owner of the business, said the store hopes to be open by Aug. 1 at 704 Main street in Eudora.

The store still will sell candy, fudge and ice cream, but it doesn’t plan on keeping its lunch counter business. The location, however, will feature a new kitchen area where patrons can watch store employees make fudge and flavored popcorn. The company for years has had a strong popcorn business, and with the move to Eudora it is expected to become a bigger part of the business.

Bowers-Istas said the company will increase its efforts to sell the popcorn online, and also will look for wholesale opportunities. But she hopes the business also will have a lot of its old Lawrence feel.

“We hope to be able to become a place for some of the kids here in Eudora,” said Bowers-Istas, who lives in Eudora with her family. “A lot of the kids are looking for something fun to do.”

The new space will be designed as a rental facility for birthdays and other such events too, she said. Foot traffic will be much less in Eudora, but as Bowers-Istas pointed out, so is the rent.

“We loved Lawrence,” she said. “But we just needed to get out. The rent was a little too much for us. We’re hoping to keep some of our Lawrence customers. It is a short drive.”